Homemade Quiver

My PSE Rally compound bow came with a quiver that attaches directly to the bow, but it only holds 6 arrows and I have a full dozen. It might be a bit ambitious, but I have decided to make my own quiver! I am using the sleeve from an old 5X Jean Jacket and adding some camo to it!

Here is the rough sketch of the design I am going to follow:

Because I am not sure how it will sit across my chest and stay stationary, I am debating if I should create a way for an adjustable belt to wrap around the top of my rib cage for stability, or not.

This was the jacket I took the sleeve from

I used a seam ripper to remove the sleeve

Then, I haphazardly cut out one of the breast pockets and created an over sized camo square from two left over pieces of material from extra fabric.

I cut several inches from the top of the sleeve, where it was removed from the jacket, before turning the sleeve inside out and sewing a hem just above the cuff. 

Once the bottom of the sleeve was sewn shut, I cut off the buttons, to allow room at the bottom before turning right side out.

 I took a few longer strips of camo fabric, that were roughly 5" wide and folded them over the top to make a border at the opening - leaving one side open so a cinch of some sort can be added later, if desired. 

Once the border was added, the camo pocket "patch" was pinned in place.

Due to how small - and adorable - my sewing machine is I was only able to sew the top of the camo pocket "patch" in place and will have to finish the rest by hand.

I still need to add a way to connect it to the body, a cinch if I decide it is necessary, and finish the pocket for my release by hand!

I will continue to update this post as I make progress! 

My First Bow

PSE Rally

I have never shot a compound bow before buying the PSE Rally, so I might be a bit biased in my lack of experience, but this bow is a great bow to start out on! It is not heavy or cumbersome in any way, it adjusts greatly in draw length and weight, it is not difficult to handle, and it was in my price range. 

I was originally looking at the Diamond Infinite Edge because of the similar characteristics, but the Rally happened to be left handed and physically at Cabela's when I went looking to try out a bow or two - and it was on clearance! I am right handed in most of my daily routine, but a few things here and there I do with my left handed - including shooting guns, which made me more confident in picking a left handed bow. 

The only problem with buying a left handed bow is that at least 80-90% of bows in stock at almost every archery supplier I have been to is for right handed shooters. Finding a left handed bow in stock is lucky, but finding the one you really want in stock is a borderline miracle! Sometimes, as a lefty you can wait months before a store will get the bow you are curious about in stock, so it can make it difficult to be patient. 

In my case finding a bow on clearance, that was left handed, that when I test shot it felt really good in my hands and made it impossible to say no to without knowing when I would find this good of a price or fit again any time soon! So, I caved and purchased the PSE Rally right then! 

These are the front and back of the two cards that came attached to it in store:

These cards mean something to people that are educated at archery, but when I first started looking at bows I didn't understand any of it, which made it difficult to know what I was looking for. What it boils down to, to get started you need to know your draw length and draw weight and which eye you will be shooting with.

As I mentioned before my bow is left handed, this is because I am left eye dominant - which means I can see more clearly with my left eye than I can my right, which makes it easier to hit the target if I use my dominant eye. 

My draw length is 25.5" and the way you find your own draw length is by measuring from fingertip to fingertip then divide that by two and a half.  I recommend measuring from your backside since your chest can add extra length if you are a women or a man with a barrel chest. Then draw weight is something that varies from person to person and is the amount you can pull back - my draw weight right now is 45 pounds! 

Once you know these important pieces of information you can start looking for a bow that will fit you before you start pricing the equipment you will need. I decided to go with the bare minimum necessary to get started, since I was on a budget. Everyone has a different opinion about what you need, so I am just going to mention what I purchased and what was given to me to get started! 

Purchased:

PSE Rally $339.88

                 Came with Peep, D Loop, Quiver, and Sight

Stalker Xtreme Carbon Arrow Shafts $54.99

Filed Tips $7.99

Cyclone Release $64.99  

McKenzie Target $39.99

Total After Tax = $546.23

Given to me:

Prices are estimated

String Snot $4-5 

Soft Case $30-40

PSE Wrist Strap/Sling $11-13

Blazer Veins $11

Stabilizer $?? varies widely 

Rough Total = $56-80 or more 

This is not a cheap hobby and if I had bought everything myself I would have spent close to $600 or more. I was lucky to find a left handed bow on clearance - Merry Christmas - and to have a friend that has out grown or found products he prefers over the one's he gave me to help get me started. I suggest heavily, do your research, take your time in finding a bow that you can grow with, and take the time ahead of time to find out which eye is your dominant eye so that you know exactly what you are looking for! 

PSE Rally

My New Baby

I am left-eye dominant, I am a short female, I wear glasses, and I am "fluffy" but I have wanted to get into archery since I was a kid, so I am! For the better part of a year, all together, over the past several years I have hemmed and hawed at prices, packages, online information, etc, etc of what would go into buying a bow. There are recurve, compound, and crossbows and even more opinions about what is the best of the best! Needless to say I sat confused and overwhelmed a majority of the time, until one of my close friends started talking to me like I knew what he was talking about. 

This friend was the only person I really knew, other than my dad, that had ever shot a bow of any sort. My dad had a recurve bow as a kid and feigned interest two years ago at picking it back up again, which led me to doing all the hemming and hawing I did, that led to me falling in love with the idea of shooting a bow. I looked at recurve bows and just was not interested in the way they appeared they would feel in comparison to my 5'3 frame - lets be honest, I assumed I would end up with a bow taller than me! I knew I wasn't a movie star, so I couldn't possibly learn how to shoot a crossbow anytime soon without a professional trainer or stunt double to do my shooting for me, which led me to start looking at compound bows. Mind you, I have been wanting to learn how to hunt since I was in High School, but when I saw the first video on YouTube of some guy decked out in camo, black smudges on his face, taking down a whitetail with a compound bow I about fell in love, right then and there! 

I wanted to go get a compound bow that night and take it over to my friends house and make him take me hunting! Then and there! Instead, over the next 9 months or so I did research online, I watched videos, I asked questions that probably made no sense to anyone but me and was crunching numbers to figure out when I could afford my own bow. My friend continued to talk to me like I knew what he was talking about with IBO, valley, cam, limb, peep, kisser, so on and so on, until things started making more sense. 

Then Christmas came around and I decided it was time, come hell or high water, I was going to own a bow in 2014! So the plan was to save as much of my Christmas money as possible and make it happen once I finished moving across country. Well I was in Columbus, Ohio New Year's Eve Day where my friend took me to Cabela's just to look around and see if there were any "lefties" to shoot. Well, there was only one "lefty" in the store, it was on clearance and it had a whisker biscuit that I wasn't sure about, but I asked one of the staff if I could check it out. Let me tell you, watching videos of people shooting a bow, hearing someone you know explain shooting a bow to you, and actually doing it are all very different things! 

First, when you ask to check out a bow you aren't given an arrow - which is confusing because firing a bow without an arrow can destroy it and is called dry firing, but that's another topic in and of itself - second, they tell you to pull with you back muscles, not your arm but you have no idea what that even means at first and third, there is no way to explain the thrill it is to even check a bow out! Needless to say, I walked out of there with the PSE Rally, a dozen arrows and field tips and the standard PSE package that comes with a bow purchase for $503, total, with only a moment of hesitation about the price. 

Let me mention that the guy at Cabela's was amazing! He found my draw length, talked to my friend and I while I pretty much played with the bow - I had no clue what I was doing. This guy answered my questions, explained how things worked on this bow, got it set to the right draw weight (45lbs) and just made sure I had everything I needed, wanted and could afford to get me started.

The very first time I shot my bow on my own, though, I got bit! 

I was not paying attention to my right arm at all, I just wanted to shoot my bow and wanted to know what it really felt like! Oh, man, did I learn what this bow can feel like! So please, if anyone is new to archery and thinks it is a cake walk, please, pay attention to not have a death grip on the grip and make sure your arm is slightly bowed away from the bow! I have only shot a few times since finishing my move but so far I am pleased with my progress and greatly appreciate the wrist strap and stabilizer my friend gave me to help get me started - he also showed me how to put the veins on my shafts and the tips in, which will likely get covered in another post once I need to make new ones!

Basically, this is a great beginner bow because you can adjust the draw length as well as the draw weight and it has the ability to grow with you. It shoots smooth, the peep is easy to use, and well let's be honest it just looks wicked! There are all sorts of stats that go with it that I will post later, but for now here is what Amazon.com currently has posted about it: PSE Rally Compound Bow. Engineered for maximum adjustability! Bowhunters come in all shapes and sizes... and the new Rally fits them all. The revolutionary new Opti Cam offers an incredible 12" of draw length adjustment and has the ability to dramatically increase the draw weight through an easy cam adjustment. PSE also gave the Rally a new limb and pocket design that allows the limb bolts to be adjusted 10 full turns from bottom. But it's not just about adjustability, the new Rally is quick, smooth and accurate... for a price that makes it one of the best values in archery today. Bow details: Available in your choice 50, 60 or 70-lb. draw weight; Max. arrow speed: 308 f.p.s.; 33 3/4"" axle-to-axle; 7 1/2" brace height; 70% let-off; Noise and shock-suppressing Vibracheck Backstop; Reformulated Vibracheck limb bands reduce vibration and noise even more; Asymmetric idle wheel is finely tuned and matched for a smooth performance and feel; Easy-to-use tuning alignment marks; Raptor grip teams with an ultra-rigid riser design to absorb shock and enhance comfort; Film-dipped in Mossy Oak Break-Up Infinity; Weighs 4 lbs., 5 ozs. State Draw Weight. Order yours today! WARNING: You must be 18 or older to purchase this product. This product cannot be shipped to D.C.; MA; Canada or Puerto Rico. Please check your State, County and City laws for restrictions before ordering this product. PSE Rally Compound Bow

Take Me or Leave Me

I am who I am! Take me or leave me, but don't expect me to change! 

I am a soon to be 29 year old, female that has spent my entire life in the city. I was raised in Columbus, Ohio ran away to California at 18 and lived in a small rural town, but it was still a city. Less than a year later I moved back home, and had no ambition in life. In late 2008 I ran away from a messy relationship with a "country" boy that had me looking to better my future, but at a loss for what that really meant. I stayed in Tucson until May 2011, when my life changed forever in one of the most tragic ways possible - my mother died, suddenly. 

My Ma was one of the most caring, giving, compassionate, understanding, intelligent, intrigued, and professional women I had ever known - don't get me wrong she was human, she had her failures and short comings just like the rest of us, but she was MY mom and she always believed in me. So for the last two years my Dad, brother and I have been struggling to find our way. My Dad's remedy was to retire, not get the memo that meant retire and instead bought a business he has thrown himself into and has done amazing at! My brother was immediately surrounded by love and care from a childhood friend of ours and an amazing man that has been his provider for over more than a decade. I made a gut reaction decision and moved to Michigan... Not my brightest move, but it was closer to them, it allowed me to not have to live in Ohio again and it gave me a chance at a fresh start - in a dying state. 

Now though, two years plus after, I am back in Tucson and am back on track with focusing on my future, my health, and my beautiful "kid," Lela, the Pit Bull! I have also found a renewed interest in a lot of the things I was interested in as a child. Things that were likely brushed aside because of my family's needs, my school and/or sport obligations, or because I was just one of those kids that had a new interest every week and it was unreasonable to go from tap dancing to falconry one week, to the next - who knows, really! 

The long and short of it I am crossing things off my childhood Bucket List and the first thing I crossed off were dreadlocks, but that was one of those things on the list we will sweep under the rug and consider a very... shall we say, awkward phase! Next on my list, though, are an interesting mix ranging from learning how to cook more than the Italian meals my mother taught me, to archery and shooting, to how to make my own toothpaste, canning, gardening and more - which let me tell you has some of those around me concerned for my sanity, but really we only live once and why not try new things? 

I want to be able to provide for myself, to grow and hunt my own food, to be able to know how to survive if weather, inflation, famine or worse make going to the grocery store impossible. I want to roll around in the mud with my dog and have fun, while I still can! 

Just the Beginning

This blog will mostly be a personal sort of archive of all things I am interested in learning, in hopes of becoming more self-sufficient in as many areas as possible!

If you have suggestions, tips, links or any sort of genuine personal experience in any of the things to follow in this blog and are willing to give positive feedback, please do so! I am open to hear anyone's own take on the things they have encountered in any of the posts that are to follow and am always hoping to learn more about the things I am coming to love as an adult!